New Orleans Pelicans: Things to Watch against the Sacramento Kings

Here are the most important things to watch in New Orleans Pelicans vs. Kings.

The New Orleans Pelicans want to keep their playoff hopes alive in another must-win game against the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings have lost all three of their games so far and will be desperate to get on the right side of the win column.

The Pels are coming off a good, but not great, performance against the Grizzlies, where they got up early and were able to hold on behind a clutch fourth quarter from Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

This will be an early tip-off, 1:30 ET, which will be the first Pelicans game not in the evening or prime time.

The Pelicans won the only meeting this season by two points, so this should be an even matchup between two up and coming teams trying to take the next step.

Here’ s what to look for when the Pels take on the Kings.

The Pelicans are Finally Not the Smaller Team

The Pelicans’ lack of bigs and forwards has been an issue all year, as their roster has too many guards and not enough forwards.

This leaves them vulnerable to big lineups or to big wings, which is exactly what they faced in the first two games against Utah and Los Angeles.

That won’t be the case against Sacramento, who is missing Marvin Bagley III and started three guards and Harrison Barnes against the Mavericks.

Richaun Holmes, Nemanja Bjelica and Harry Giles are the Kings’ only real bigs and none of them present the same kind of matchup problems the Pels faced in the first two games and to a lesser degree against Memphis.

This presents Alvin Gentry with an interesting problem, as the Pelicans are usually the team that goes small, which may not be a good strategy against the Kings.

The Pelicans don’t have a bevy of big players either, so it’s not like they’ll be able to throw out a Godzilla lineup like the one they faced against Denver, but they should be able to hold their own on the boards and limit points in the paint.

Bjelica had a big game against the Pelicans earlier this season and they will need to keep him off the boards.

This one might just be small-ball all around, so expect a fast-paced and high scoring game.